Philosophy Discussion Forums

I cannot prove that Santa does not exist.

Can anyone?

Sy,

I cannot prove that Santa does not exist.

Can anyone?

Are Santa and God in the same category for you? They aren’t for me. Ontologically, they are two completely different things.

Fanman wrote: ↑November 5th, 2022, 11:13 am Sy,

I cannot prove that Santa does not exist.

Can anyone?

Are Santa and God in the same category for you? They aren’t for me. Ontologically, they are two completely different things.

All true, in the sense that given the lack of objective data, both Santa and gods reside in the realm of subjectivity. Hence why, as you pointed out, two can differ in their understanding of Santa and gods.

Sy,

All true, in the sense that given the lack of objective data, both Santa and gods reside in the realm of subjectivity. Hence why, as you pointed out, two can differ in their understanding of Santa and gods.

That’s correct. But logically speaking (at least for the Christian God), a lack of objective data is necessary for faith.

John 3:16 NIV, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

How can people believe in Jesus, if there is objective data?

Fanman wrote: ↑November 5th, 2022, 6:05 pm Sy,

All true, in the sense that given the lack of objective data, both Santa and gods reside in the realm of subjectivity. Hence why, as you pointed out, two can differ in their understanding of Santa and gods.

That’s correct. But logically speaking (at least for the Christian God), a lack of objective data is necessary for faith.

John 3:16 NIV, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

How can people believe in Jesus, if there is objective data?

People were claiming that we could not disprove the existence of God. I pointed out that we cannot even disprove the existence of Santa.

Can you disprove Santa? I dare you to try to disprove Santa. I guarantee that I can repel all attempts to disprove Santa by using the methods of theists in repelling attempts to disprove God.

C'mon, bring your evidence that Santa does not exist and I will skewer them all :)

Santa exists! Prove me wrong.

Sorry, my last post was directed to LuckyR.

Sy,

People were claiming that we could not disprove the existence of God. I pointed out that we cannot even disprove the existence of Santa.

Can you disprove Santa? I dare you to try to disprove Santa. I guarantee that I can repel all attempts to disprove Santa by using the methods of theists in repelling attempts to disprove God.

C'mon, bring your evidence that Santa does not exist and I will skewer them all

That doesn’t answer my question. I don’t care to discuss Santa.

The Bible gets berated for being inconsistent, but the fact that if God were objectively detectable it would negate the whole New Testament goes unnoticed.

Fanman wrote: ↑November 5th, 2022, 6:22 pm Sy,

People were claiming that we could not disprove the existence of God. I pointed out that we cannot even disprove the existence of Santa.

Can you disprove Santa? I dare you to try to disprove Santa. I guarantee that I can repel all attempts to disprove Santa by using the methods of theists in repelling attempts to disprove God.

C'mon, bring your evidence that Santa does not exist and I will skewer them all :)

That doesn’t answer my question. I don’t care to discuss Santa.

That's a shame. The principles behind the debates are the same, so it's relevant.

How can people have faith without evidence, you ask? Logically, faith is strongest when one doesn't care about evidence. Faith and evidence are antithetical. If you have evidence, then you don't need faith. If you have faith, attempting to prove it logically would seem the the best way to erode it, allowing ever more waves of doubt to splash against their rocks of belief.

The way to remove doubt is not to care whether one's faith is justifiable or not. Creativity, laughter and sex are other areas that don't benefit from being analysed or justified. Ideally, one just does it and works with the flow.

Sy,

That's a shame. The principles behind the debates are the same, so it's relevant.

In your mind maybe.

How can people have faith without evidence, you ask? Logically, faith is strongest when one doesn't care about evidence. Faith and evidence are antithetical. If you have evidence, then you don't need faith. If you have faith, attempting to prove it logically would seem the the best way to erode it, allowing ever more waves of doubt to splash against their rocks of belief.

The way to remove doubt is not to care whether one's faith is justifiable or not. Creativity, laughter and sex are other areas that don't benefit from being analysed or justified. Ideally, one just does it and works with the flow.

That still doesn’t answer my question. This strikes me as an equivocation.

No, I did answer your question perfectly frankly, whether you accept it or not.

'How can people believe if there's no objective data?'

My answer is above. The trick is to not care about objective data, etc.

Sy

No, I did answer your question perfectly frankly, whether you accept it or not.

'How can people believe if there's no objective data?'

My answer is above. The trick is to not care about objective data, etc.

I disagree because that wasn't the context of my question. Neither was it the wording. Never mind, I'm not going to press you for an answer. Let's just agree to disagree and move on.

Fanman wrote: ↑November 3rd, 2022, 8:43 pm Mounce574

Can you prove without a doubt that God does not exist? If so, how did creation happen? Can you prove beyond a doubt your answer is correct? Please enlighten me. I believe in God, and I want to see your perspective more clearly.

Of course not. I don’t know how creation happened. I cannot prove that I am correct. I am agnostic. But I used to be a Christian. I don’t expect you to take on board what I’m saying, but I know how Christians perceive life. Let me ask you. If there is a God, why hasn’t he shown himself to us?

I do not have the answers completely, I will also not force my beliefs upon someone else either. I think God shows himself when he deems his presence necessary. From my understanding, in Revelations Christ is going to return, and we will all stand before judgment at that time. From watching the world now, I feel (Note the word feel) that this will happen during my lifetime. As for the Big Bang theory- is it possible that God caused it? I know of a study where they found a tree that was older than the estimated time of creation from the Big Bang.

Fanman wrote: ↑November 5th, 2022, 6:05 pm Sy,

All true, in the sense that given the lack of objective data, both Santa and gods reside in the realm of subjectivity. Hence why, as you pointed out, two can differ in their understanding of Santa and gods.

That’s correct. But logically speaking (at least for the Christian God), a lack of objective data is necessary for faith.

John 3:16 NIV, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

How can people believe in Jesus, if there is objective data?

Absolutely correct. It is so refreshing to converse with someone of faith... who actually grasps the fact that faith is independent of proof and evidence.

LuckyR

Absolutely correct. It is so refreshing to converse with someone of faith... who actually grasps the fact that faith is independent of proof and evidence.

It seems as though I am being misunderstood. My point (in reference to the Christian God) was to highlight the fact that if he were detectable objectively via proof or evidence, the New Testament would be null and void. Meaning that God would not allow himself to be detected because of that. To discuss the particulars of faith as a practice was not my goal.